Job done: England got what they needed from a low-key warm-up game before facing New Zealand in series
(Picture: Getty Images)An understated affair, but England got what they wanted.
The two-day warm-up fixture in Hamilton came to a close as England bowled the New Zealand XI out for 310 with Olly Stone picking up three wickets, although preparations for next week's Test in Mount Maunganui could be under threat with one of the most serious storms forecast for New Zealand this century scheduled to hit the northern island early next week.
Cyclone Gabrielle is expected to be upgraded to a category-three storm and with heavy rain already having impacted parts of the nation, a state of emergency has been extended in Auckland with up to 300mm of rain potentially to fall across the top half of the island in the space of 24 hours.
The first Test itself is not considered to be under threat and while the weather is set to be wild next week, the settings and cricket in Hamilton over the past two days have been far more sedate.
“I think we got out what we wanted in regards to preparation,” said England head coach Brendon McCullum.
“We’ve got the boys going down early for nets today, we’ve got another nets tomorrow morning, three days in the Mount and we’ve had four days of training already which is quite a lot for a two-Test series I think. The intensity of how they’ve operated has been excellent.”
Captain Ben Stokes sat out both days of the game, opting to train and watch on from the boundary instead.
“Some characters don’t need warm-up games,” McCullum said of the skipper. “The bigger the competition, the more they step up. He’s never been a warm-up game kind of guy and I don’t see that changing any time soon.”
The day as a whole was an understated affair, as a strong New Zealand XI batting lineup containing two full internationals in Will Young, who has been named in their squad for the first Test, and Tom Bruce batted with control against England’s conveyor belt of bowlers getting miles in their legs.
Stone picked up three wickets, including the final two of the day, but they were otherwise shared evenly across the bowling attack with all of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, Matty Potts, Jack Leach and Joe Root picking up one apiece with a run-out added in to boot.
But if the England team lacked a standout performer on the day, the New Zealand XI did not, as 22-year-old Quinn Sunde, who is yet to make his professional debut, scored 91 off 128 balls before eventually being caught at slip by Root off Stone.
England’s XI ahead of the first Test is settled with the only selection debate surrounding who plays as the third seamer alongside Anderson and Robinson, with Broad by far the likeliest option. England may, however, opt for Stone if they wish to include an out-and-out quick.
“I don’t think we have to do too much different,” McCullum said of how England will look to build into the New Zealand series on the back of a three-nil win in Pakistan. “Guys are enjoying their cricket.
“In the dressing room, at training or wherever they go they have got smiles on their faces. They are laughing and joking but when they put their heads down and start working they put in the yards. That’s all you can ask for.
“Pakistan was amazing. We banked some experiences which will go with us forever. This is a completely different challenge against a team who in their own conditions have been incredibly formidable over the last five or six years.
“I don't think we have reached the limit and I think it's still pretty new for us how we’re playing. The majority of the time it's authentic. I think sometimes we have to force it a little bit so we just need to make sure that does become as consistently authentic as it possibly can.”
